Wall Street Journal

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Bribery:

Mike Lucas

Almost half of Ukrainians say they desire Ikea products more than any other global brand, yet the company hasn’t been able to crack the market in a decade of trying because it won’t pay a bribe. (Bloomberg)

The trial of a “mafia-style gang” in China accused of gunning down rivals, bribery and corruption has begun, state media reported. (BBC)

South African prosecutors dropped bribery charges filed against business associates of former African National Congress youth minister Julius Malema. (BDLive)

If you’re doing business in China without an anti-bribery compliance program, you’re crazy. (China Law Blog)

Mike Volkov declaresAlstom SA as the next poster-child for anti-corruption enforcement. Thebriberyact.com sees Besso Ltd. got three strikes against bribery. The FCPAProfessor reports on a flurry of activity in the civil bribery case of Noble Corp. executives.

Cybercrime:

The Pentagon is significantly growing the ranks of its cyberwarfare unit, the U.S. defense secretary said, stressing that Washington isn’t going to militarize cyberspace. (Washington Post, WSJ)

Money Laundering:

The lawyer for reputed Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht argued in his motion to dismiss that the IRS decision declaring bitcoin as property–not currency–is a reason to drop a money-laundering charge. (Circa)

The ousted president of the Vatican bank came out swinging after he was cleared in a money-laundering investigation, accusing the bank’s board of causing “grave damage” to the Holy See by firing him in 2012. The bank did not comment. Two others willface charges and they didn’t appear to be contacted. (Canadian Press, WSJ, BBC, AFP)

Nigeria wants assets stolen by former dictator Sani Abacha seized by the U.S. to be returned. (AFP)

Mt. Gox faced questions on handling client cash years before its crash. (Reuters)

Sanctions:

Captured Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman told Mexican prosecutors that he’s a simple farmer, does not have an email account, makes about $18,000 a year and has no ties to drug traffickers. Will the cartels go the way of Colombia’s crime syndicates? (McClatchy, McClatchy)

Bank Rossiya will limit its operations to Russia and will only conduct transactions in rubles as a result of U.S. sanctions. Visa and MasterCard resumed services for two Russian banks. Americans support sanctions on Russia but doubt their effectiveness. (Dow Jones Newswires, Digital Journal, RT)

Russia does not plan to publicly name any new Western officials they’ve blacklisted. The Russian foreign minister downplayed the effect of sanctions on Moscow. (The Hill, Globe and Mail)

The 36-story tower at 650 Fifth Avenue in New York must be forfeited because its co-owner acted as a front for Iran, a judge ruled. (Bloomberg)

Due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, Pakistan can’t even get gas from a pipeline it wants to run from Iran once the project is completed. (Express Tribune)

While U.S. officials considered sanctions against Venezuela, the Venezuelan opposition leaders said they weren’t a good idea. (AP, BuzzFeed)

An interview with a lawyer operating in Myanmar discusses ongoing U.S. sanctions. (Irawaddy)

General Anti-Corruption:

A deep dive into the case of a California state senator accused of an array of corruption charges is here. The story reads like pulp fiction. One of the accused in the case, known as “Shrimp Boy,” posted on Facebook from behind bars. (Center for Investigative Reporting, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle)

Many executives express concerns about their existing cyber incident response plans, despite a number of high-profile breaches. The uncertainty surrounding cyber incident response presents an opportunity to educate the executive team on cyber resilience, the coordinated set of enterprisewide activities designed to help organizations respond to, and recover from, a variety of cyber incidents, while reducing their impact to business operations, cost and brand damage.

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About Risk & Compliance

Risk & Compliance provides news and commentary to corporate executives and others who need to understand, monitor and control the many risks that can tarnish brands, distract management and harm investors. Its content spans governance, risk and compliance and includes analysis of the significance of laws and regulations, the risks inherent in global expansion and the protective moves taken by companies.